''A Covenant with Death'' is a 1967 American

legal drama A legal drama is a genre of film and television that generally focuses on narratives regarding legal practice and the justice system. The American Film Institute (AFI) defines "courtroom drama" as a genre of film in which a system of justice play ...

film directed by

Lamont Johnson Ernest Lamont Johnson Jr. (September 30, 1922 – October 24, 2010) was an American actor and film director who has appeared in and directed many television shows and movies. He won two Emmy Awards. Early years Johnson was born in Stockto ...

(in his feature directorial debut), from a screenplay by Lawrence B. Marcus and Saul Levitt, based on the 1964 novel of the same name by Stephen Becker. The film stars

George Maharis George Maharis (born September 1, 1928) is an American actor who portrayed Buz Murdock in the first three seasons of the TV series ''Route 66''. Maharis also recorded numerous pop music albums at the height of his fame, and later starred in t ...

Laura Devon Laura Devon (born Mary Louise Briley; May 23, 1931 – July 19, 2007) was an American actress, singer, and model. Early life Laura Devon was born May 23, 1931, in Chicago. Her birth name has been given as either Mary Lou Briley or Mary Laura Br ...

Katy Jurado María Cristina Estela Marcela Jurado García (16 January 1924 – 5 July 2002), known professionally as Katy Jurado, was a Mexican actress. Jurado began her acting career in Mexico during the Golden Age of Mexican cinema. In 1951, she was rec ...

, and

Earl Holliman Henry Earl Holliman (born September 11, 1928) is an American actor, animal-rights activist, and singer known for his many character roles in films, mostly Westerns and dramas, in the 1950s and 1960s. He won a Golden Globe Award for the film ' ...

Plot

Within a small Southwestern town on the Mexican border in 1923 America, a promiscuous married woman is found dead in her bedroom. Her grieving, jealous and widely disliked husband, Bryan Talbot (

), is convicted of her murder and sentenced to hang on purely circumstantial evidence. The presiding Judge Hochstadter ( Arthur O'Connell) departs for a fishing trip, leaving it up to the inexperienced, 29 year old Mexican-American judge (and lothario) Ben Morealis Lewis (

), to oversee the execution. Problem is, Lewis has his own misgivings about mandatory sentencing and capital punishment in general, and about Talbot's guilt in particular. In a stunning turn of events, Talbot unintentionally kills his executioner while trying to avoid being hanged for a murder he fiercely denies having committed. While awaiting the arrival of a replacement hangman, another man confesses to killing Talbot's Wife. Judge Lewis must negotiate various relationships (with his mother, and two very different women for whom he harbors strong and conflicting feelings), in addition to provincial attitudes about love and marriage, sexuality, modernity, maturity, cultural integrity, group loyalty and his faith in the triumph of justice.

Cast

as Benjamin "Ben" Lewis *

as Rosemary *

as Eulalia Lewis *

as Bryan Talbot * Sidney Blackmer as Sebastian Oates * Gene Hackman as Alfred Harmsworth * John Anderson as Dietrich * Wende Wagner as Rafaela Montemayor * Emilio Fernández as Ignacio Montemayor *

Kent Smith Frank Kent Smith (March 19, 1907 – April 23, 1985) was an American actor who had a lengthy career in film, theatre and television. Early years Smith was the son of Mr. and Mrs. James E. Smith. He was born in New York City and was educated ...

as Oliver Parmelee * Lonny Chapman as Edgar Musgrave * Arthur O'Connell as Judge Hockstadter * Jose De Vega as John Digby * Larry D. Mann as George Chillingworth *

Whit Bissell Whitner Nutting Bissell (October 25, 1909 – March 5, 1996) was an American character actor. Early life Born in New York City, Bissell was the son of surgeon Dr. J. Dougal Bissell and Helen Nutting Bissell. He was educated at the Allen-S ...

as Bruce Donnelly * Russell Thorson as Doctor Shilling * Erwin Neal as Willie Wayte * Jadeen Vaughn as Louise Talbot * Paul Birch as Governor * Robert Dunlap as Tolliver *

Kelton Garwood Kelton Bradford Garwood, also known and credited as Jonathan Harper, and John Harper, (May 21, 1928 – July 28, 1991) was an American actor on stage, film and television, perhaps best known as undertaker Percy Crump on the western television ...

as Mr. Moody

References

External links

* 1967 films 1967 directorial debut films 1967 drama films American legal drama films Films about miscarriage of justice Films about murder Films based on American novels Films directed by Lamont Johnson Films scored by Leonard Rosenman Films set in 1923 Films set in New Mexico Films shot in New Mexico Murder mystery films Warner Bros. films 1960s American films {{1960s-US-film-stub